Just Breathe
by marcen12
Summary: A neat, organized young man meets someone he didn't expect. *I DO NOT OWN ED EDD AND EDDY!*
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Edd was sitting at his desk.

The school week would be over in 3 minutes. He sat quietly as his classmates talked to each other. Edd knew everybody here but he didn't talk to anyone. In fact, all he did during his classes was do work and leave the talking to everyone else. Of course, he did presentations in front of his class but that was only for the grades.

He was a very tidy A student in high school. The younger students looked up to him but since he didn't talk to many people, no one really knew what he was like outside of school. That was okay for Edd. He didn't think that having a social life would detour his education but it would hinder it slightly. All he wanted to do was have a good, prosperous, predictable future. He just had to keep up his grades so that meant little to no contact with many people, the only exception were his teachers.

Edd packed up his belongings just in time for the final bell. He took his time as everyone else rushed out of the classroom. He was in no hurry, he was going to go straight home and get ready for tomorrow. As he got out of the classroom, a familiar face was outside of the door.

"Double D?" she called out. Edd turned around. Sarah. "I haven't seen you in like forever!"

Edd nodded and smiled. "It seems that way. So, how have you been?"

Sarah shrugged. "Not much. Jimmy and I are in the school play. He's gotten a lot more confident since he got his head brace removed."

"That's interesting." Edd nodded. "It was really nice catching up with you. I guess you want to see the teacher. Well, I'll see you later." He started to walk to his locker, which wasn't that far from his classroom.

Sarah caught up to him. "Well, I've came here to see you. I don't know if you've heard but Ed is going to have a birthday party at his house tomorrow afternoon. Me, Jimmy, Nazz, Johnny, Rolf and Eddy are going to be there. I was wondering if you would be there."

Edd looked at her, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, it's kind of short notice. I have to get a gift and all." They arrived at his locker. "Why wasn't I at least informed about his party?" he asked, as opened his locker.

Sarah sighed. "Everyone tried to call you but you don't have a cell phone. We try your house phone, but no one answers. You don't reply to the emails we send you. Even when one of us tries to reach you at your house, you're either not home or don't answer. We go to the same school and we barely see you. The only reason I know where you are now is because I know people who are in your last class."

Edd pulled out several books out of his locker and put it into his backpack. "Well, I'm usually very busy on the weekends." And with that, he shut his locker and walked away.

Sarah caught up to him. "You mean just doing homework and working at the library?"

"I like working on various projects and the library helps me with new ideas." He replied.

"The only reason I don't bother you at work is because I'm at work also." She goes in front of Edd, which prompts him to stop. "Please, be at Ed's party. You don't even need to bring a gift. He has a ton of them. Just be there."

"I'll try to be there." He said. He was about to walk around her but Sarah blocked him again.

"Do you know what Ed wants for his birthday, which was a week ago? He wants to see you. In fact, a lot of us around your house barely see you. But Ed, especially Ed, misses you. He just wants you there."

"I'll try…"

Sarah looked at him, eye to eye. "Please, don't try. Just be there. If you won't do it for me, do it for Ed. I've treated him like crap for a long time, but he's always happy whenever you're around. The least you could do for him, after all the years he's protected you, is show up for a couple of hours."

Edd sighed and thought about it for a few seconds. "Sure, I'll be there."

Sarah smiled. "Great! I won't even tell Ed. It'll be a surprise for him!" She walked away as she said, while waving. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon!"

Edd waved back. "You got it." He said, under his breath.

_Well, this is going to change a few of my plans. _He thought as he walked out of the building and into a bright, sunny day.

He walked alone to his house, which wasn't that far from the cul-de-sac.

He opened the door to his house which had a sticky note on the back of it. He read it.

_I had to go to a conference. Your father is going to be at work late. Dinner is on the stove. Love Mom._

Edd nodded at the note as he went up to his tidy room and threw it into his wastebasket. After setting his bag on the floor, he sat on his bed, thinking about what tomorrow at work was going to bring. Then, he thought about his homework, as in, which subject he would do first. It wouldn't be a problem since he did most of his homework during his lunch break at the school library, so the homework was only English and Math. He took his work out of his bag and went to his desk.

"I better get started." He said to himself.

His homework was done he had taken his shower, his dinner was eaten alone and he got himself ready for tomorrow. He packed several books into his backpack and put on his pajamas after putting his clothes for work on his dresser. Edd checked his watch: 8:25 pm. It was still pretty early to go to sleep. He took out his laptop from inside his desk and turned it on. He opened his Microsoft word and went to a saved document that was marked Untitled. The title was made on purpose. Edd was writing a novel and he already had the characters set up and some terms of storytelling.

He looked at the 15 page document but didn't do anything. The only problem was that he couldn't think of any plot that he liked, which was keeping him from writing anything outside of the introduction of characters. The story's plot was supposed to be underway but there was nothing he could think of. For the past 12 weeks, this had been happening. He had tried books to help him but to little or no avail. Working at the library helped at first, which explained the 15 pages his wrote so far but he felt stunted.

Edd looked at his watch and saw it was 9:25.

_Time really flies when you can't write anything. _He thought as he closed his laptop and put it inside his desk. He suddenly remembered Ed's party! He grabbed a sticky note from his desk and wrote himself a reminder and put the note on his bedroom door for tomorrow so he wouldn't forget. He crawled into bed and looked out at the night sky out his window. He did this until he drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Edd walked out of his house the next morning to the public library. He wore a dress shirt, combined with a tie, and dress pants. Since he worked at the library on the weekends, he usually had two white dress shirts for those days. Although this was not needed, he preferred to look professional.

He arrived at the library, which was further away from the school but it was still walking distance, and he went behind the front desk. Putting his bag down, he turned on the administrator's computer and logged in to the system.

Edd looked at his watch. library would be opening in 15 minutes, which gave Edd some time to turn on the computers and store away a few books left in the drop off box near the front door. He pushed the box around the library for a while, storing books on the ground floor where they needed to be after he checked the items in through the computer.

This was his favourite time of being in the library.

The nice peaceful silence of the morning, the way the books smelt the first time going in to the place every day and it was a great place to get lost in. Seeing as the library was 3 big floors, it was amazing to explore places that he's never seen. He had worked here for almost 2 years and he still believes there were new things to discover.

Edd pushed the drop off box into the elevator and pushed the 2nd floor button. He arrived on the floor and saw his boss, walking around, scanning the tall bookshelves.

"Good morning, Mr Earl." Edd called out to him.

The 30 something man looked turned to Edd. "Good morning, Edd. How was your week?"

Edd went up to him, starting to put books away in their respected areas. "Not much, only homework and writing. How was your week?"

Mr Earl scratched his long brown hair. "Fine, I guess." He replied, continuing looking at the books.

Edd moved to the other side of the bookshelf, where Mr Earl was. "What are you looking for, Sir?"

"I'm looking for anything." He replied. "Sometimes, whenever you look around, you find something that is better than what you were originally looking for. It helps a lot."

Edd nodded as he stacked books away on the top shelves. Although he may not have been much of a talker, he thought listening to his boss was interesting. He was a very odd man that Edd could never wrap his head around. In the 2 years that he's been here, he had never seen his boss step outside the library. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Edd's shift was over at 4 pm, but he was at the library long before Edd was. Usually, Edd would think about it for a while but his mind quickly went into work mode.

"What time is it?" Mr Earl asked as Edd put away the last of the books.

"There are four minutes until we open the doors." Edd replied after he looked at his watch. Both men walked to the elevator with Edd pushing the button for the first floor.

"Well, let's hope the others are here already. We can't run the whole library with just the two of us, although we've done it before." He said, as they both stepped into the elevator.

"Yes, but it was near closing time…and that was last week." Edd smiled.

"Thanks again for staying until 9 last week. The other workers had other engagements."

"It's not a problem. I wouldn't mind being in one of my favorite places for a while longer, since I had no homework for the week. It's like my second home."

"Yes, it's like a home to me too." Mr Earl said, as the elevator doors opened and the two men walked out, with Edd thinking for a little bit about that last sentence. His watch started to beep, indicating it was 10:00 am.

"It's time to open those doors." He said to himself, opening the front doors.

The Saturday shift was the same as the other shifts he worked on the weekends, something Edd didn't mind. He just helped people scan out their books, along with his older co-workers named Matt, Samuel and Tony, who he didn't know all that well, although he noted their very different personalities. Matt was a grungy character, having long dirty blond hair and wearing clothing that came out of the 90s. He was also a bit crazy, a nice person, but weird at all end of the Earth, which was the opposite of Samuel, who was calm, collected and focused. He was not as neat as Edd but he seemed like the most clear headed of the group. Then, there was Tony, who Edd couldn't quite put his finger on because his personality seemed to be a complete blank slate, at least from what he could tell.

They hung around with each other and talk about things that Edd didn't get involved with. He just scanned books for people, smile and tell them to have a nice day while one or two of his co-workers would put away the books returned. Occasionally, he would help them look for books but for the most part, it was scanning books in and out of the library, which Edd found very stimulating.

Then his lunch break would come, where Edd wouldn't actually eat. Instead, he did more for the library. He would usually do two things during his 20 minutes break. He would take the books that were returned and put them back on their shelves. Then, with the time left remaining, he usually walked around looking at books, usually in the biography section, where he read about authors, including his favorites like Shakespeare and Plath. He would read a few pages from respected authors who were dealing with what he was dealing with currently. He got a few ideas at times but they wouldn't work for his favor.

He wouldn't feel disappointed for long because his break was almost up and it was back to work.

3: 58 pm came along, as Edd scanned the last books into the library computer and packed his bags with books he would read later. He was about to step out of the front desk when Matt went up to him, which threw Edd off since none of his co-workers talked to him.

"What's up, Edd?" Matt asked.

"Good afternoon, Matt," Edd replied. "Need anything?"

"Not really." Matt answered, scratching the back of his neck. "Listen, me and the guys were going to a club next week and we wanted to invite you…you know, if you wanted to come."

"Well, I don't really go to clubs." Edd said.

"Well, it's not a party yourself to death club. It's the Alice's Heaven."

"I never heard of it." Edd said, shaking his head.

"It's a club where all these indie bands come to play music. It's mostly blues but it's pretty chill. We usually go every Saturday night. It's mostly a "get-to-know you" kind of thing since we've been here for a couple of years and we barely know you. So, what do you say?"

"Thanks for the offer." Edd replied, as he put his backpack on his shoulders. "I'll think about it. See you tomorrow." He said as he walked out the door, waving at Samuel, Tony and Mr Earl on his way out, just as 4 o'clock hit.

Next stop: Home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Edd arrived home late in the afternoon and went straight into his room, placing his bag beside his bed. After a brief sigh, he took off his dress shirt and placed it in his laundry basket. He went into his closet, pulled out his dress shirt for tomorrow and hung it on his bedroom doorknob. Also placed on the knob was his tie, which he had taken off afterward.

After placing his library books on his desk, he lay on his bed. He could go to bed but it was too early. Even if he took a nap, he would wake up late for dinner and he would be up all night and would end up being sleepy for work tomorrow. He could read a book while he was waiting for dinner.

Edd got up from his bed and went to his washroom, where he turned on the shower, setting it to warm water. He looked and realized that he had no soap so he went outside his room and into the hallway closet. As he opened it, he could hear his parents sleeping in their room, which was across the hall. He got some soap and quietly went back into his room. As he closed his door, he noticed something dropped from his door to the floor. He picked it up and realized it was a sticky note, reminding him about Ed's party today.

He looked at his watch. 4:30. "Oh dear." He said to himself, as he grabbed a towel and went straight into the shower.

Edd stepped onto Ed's front steps to the door, wearing something slightly more causal than work. It consisted of an orange sweater, a pair of black Dickies and some black sneakers. He looked at his watch and found it was 4:48. He let out a breather as he rang the doorbell. Almost immediately, the door opened and Sarah greeted him.

"Double D!" she exclaimed. "You came!"

"Sorry, I'm late." He apologized.

Sarah pulled him in the house. "Better late than never." She said as she closed the door. "Everyone else is in the kitchen. Ed will be happy to see you." She led Edd to the way and saw that everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to Edd, who was sitting in a chair, in front of a big chocolate cake. Edd looked around and saw that everyone looked the same. Rolf, Jonny (without Plank, no one knew why), Nazz, Jimmy and Eddy but there was no sign of Kevin, who moved to California for a reason no one knew.

The only changes he saw were from Jimmy, Eddy and Ed. Jimmy was a little taller. Gone were his head brace and tiny effeminate voice and he now had straight, symmetrical teeth and a more mature voice. He looked much more confident then the little boy from years ago.

Eddy was also different. He was also a bit taller and his head grew more hair, out from his original three hairs, which was brown and slicked back, with a little stubble under his chin. Edd realized that his voice was still the same, only it was a little less aggressive.

Ed had changed as well. Gone were the yellow skin and the "homeless" look. Instead, his hygiene had improved greatly. His skin was at a normal color and his clothing had more of a modern feel to it, which was a white T-shirt, black jeans and house slippers. His uni-brow was separated into two normal eyebrows and his teeth were actually white. The only thing that stayed the same was his personality, which was still eccentric and wide eyed.

After everyone stopped singing, Sarah called out to Ed. "Big brother!" she called out. "Look who made it!"

Ed looked around and saw Edd. This made Ed get up from his chair and give Ed a hug, lifting the smart Ed as he did this.

"Oh man!" he exclaimed, as he put Edd down. "It's so good to see you!"

"Welcome back, Double D!" Eddy called back. "It's like you disappeared off the face of the Earth!"

"Oh, you know," Edd blushed, as everyone looked at him, awestruck that he was still alive. "I've been here and there. I'm glad you're enjoying your birthday."

"Aw, thanks man!" Ed said. "Come sit with us! We're just about to open the presents!" He walked back to his seat.

"Thank you." Edd said as he followed, pulling up a chair beside Eddy. "So, how have you been?"

"It's going great!" Ed told him, as he picked up his first present, from Rolf. "I was a guest commentator on a monster movie marathon on TV! I got paid $250 a movie for 4 movies!" Edd chuckled as Ed opened his present, which turned out to be a DVD of a monster movie. "Oh wow!" he shouted. "It's the new Godzilla in Canada sequel! Thanks Rolf!"

"It's no problem, Ed-boy!" he said. "It's the least I could do after you took care of my animals while I was visiting my parents at the old country for a couple of weeks!"

"I was glad to do it!" Ed told him, making Edd smile more. Even though it had been a while since he last saw his friend, Ed loved monster movies and animals even more than before.

It was 9:45 when it was time for Edd to go home, leaving Ed with Sarah, Jimmy and Eddy. He said good night to the four of them and walked outside. After eating so much cake and drinking so much soda, he thought about skipping dinner and going straight to bed. As much of a decent time he had, he had to get ready for work the next day.

"Edd, wait!" A voice shouted behind him. He turned around to see Sarah running up to him. "I just wanted to say thanks for coming!"

Edd smiled. "It was no problem. I did enjoy spending time with some old friends."

Sarah sighed as she said. "Well," she looked at his in his brown eyes. "I didn't only want to say that I was glad you were here. I am, and so does Ed. But, I was wondering if I could bring someone to the library with me tomorrow."

Edd nodded. "Why, yes," he said. "The library is open to everyone. It is a public place."

Sarah said. "Yes...and there is someone I want you to meet."

Edd looked at her. "A new friend of yours, I'm guessing."

"Well, yeah," she scratched the back of her neck. "I just wanted to bring her to where you work and introduce the both of you."

"Why at work? That seems like a busy time for me to notice anyone."

"I barely see you at school," she explained. "You don't really come out of your house when school is over and the only place is at your work, where you HAVE to make contact with people."

"It sounds like you're telling me I purposely avoid people." He said, crossing his arms.

"I'm not saying you do." She paused, and took a deep breath before saying, "I just wanted to introduce the both of you so you could get to know each other."

"If you wanted me to meet her, why wasn't she at the party?" Edd asked.

"She had last minute errands to run," Sarah answered. "So, I'll bring her around tomorrow." And with that, she ran back to the house.

"But I..." Edd started.

"Good night!" she exclaimed and she closed the door behind her, leaving Edd to wonder what tomorrow would be like.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Edd was checking in books at his work early Sunday afternoon. He was down to the last 4 books when Mr Earl went up to him.

"Edd," Mr Earl called to him. "When you have the chance, can you help me with the printer on the second floor? Something is wrong with it."

"Of course." Edd replied, as he finished scanning the last of the books.

"Is it printing anything now?" Edd asked his boss, who was beside the printer, waiting for Edd's printing request through the main computer on the 2nd floor.

"Nothing," he told Edd, as he went up Edd. "I'm going to get the tools." And with that, he walked away. As he waited, Edd pulled out a book he was currently reading: The Bell Jar. Although it was his third time reading it, he was still fascinated about reading about the downward spiral that happened to an otherwise mentally sound person.

Occasionally, he would look at the elevator to see if Mr Earl was back yet but there was no sign of him. A few minutes later, the elevator opened and Edd closed his book and went back on the computer, getting ready to print something when the printer would be tested after it was fixed.

"Hi, Double D!" A voice called out to him and Edd looked at the elevator. It was Sarah and a young lady with blue hair, some of which covered her left eye, was wearing a black T-shirt and beige baggy pants. They both came over to where Edd was. "What's going on?"

"I'm okay." Edd answered, remembering that Sarah told him last night that she would swing by with someone tomorrow. "I thought you had to work on the weekends."

"I took a day off." She said. "Besides, I told you I was coming today to introduce you to a friend of mine. Edd, this is my friend, Marie." Sarah looked at her friend. "Marie, this is Edd, or Double D by people close to him."

Edd smiled as he held out his hand. "Good afternoon," he said. "It's very nice to meet you."

Marie smiled back and replied. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"So," he said. "How did you guys find me?"

"Well, you weren't on the main floor," Sarah said. "So, we went up to the second floor and here you are!"

"Yes," Edd nodded. "I guess that question was a bit silly on my part."

"The elevators are a bit slower than what I'm used to." Sarah said.

"Well, there are stairs." Edd pointed to his left to a staircase that went down to the main floor, which Mr Earl came up from, carrying a box of tools.

"I did want to take the stairs," Marie said. "But Sarah was too tired...or too lazy to walk so we ended up taking the elevator."

"I just didn't want to climb up those stairs." Sarah replied, as Marie laughed quietly. "Why do you wear a dress shirt and tie here?" Sarah asked Edd.

"I like to look professional anywhere I go." Edd replied.

"It seems out of place for someone who works at a library." Sarah said, shrugging.

"Not really," Edd told her. "Some people feel comfortable wearing certain clothes in certain places."

"Fine," Sarah said. "We came by to see if you wanted to get a bite to eat right now."

Edd shook his head. "Sorry, my break was 20 minutes ago." He was about to explain more but Mr Earl interrupted him.

"Edd!" Mr Earl called out to him, loud enough for Edd to hear but quiet enough for the library. "Sorry to bother you but can you help me out here. You're better at this than I am."

Edd nodded to him, as he turned to the two girls. "I'm sorry, I'll be right back." He said as he walked to his boss.

While Edd was working on the printer, Marie turned to Sarah. "Do you know where the washroom is?"

"I think it's on the main floor." She said, as both women took the stairs to the first floor. "I'm sorry if Double D is a bit distracted at the moment. I didn't think he was serious when he said he was always busy."

"It's okay." Marie replied. "I guess we could've showed up near the end of his shift."

"Look," Sarah stopped in the middle of the steps. "I have to go talk to Double D about something."

"Fine," Marie said as she continued walking down the stairs. "I'll meet you up there when I get back."

After Sarah watched her friend disappear down the stairs, she turned back around to the second floor, seeing Edd walk back to the computer, saying,

"If it doesn't print out anything, turn the wrench twice to the right."

Sarah walked beside him as he walked to the computer. "Well, what do you think of her?"

"I think she seems like a pleasant person." Edd replied, as he clicked on the print command. "Why did you come here when you knew I was busy?"

"I just wanted you to meet a girl." Sarah told him.

Edd looked at her. "Look, I appreciate what you're doing but I don't have time right now."

"I know you don't," Sarah said, walking towards the big bookshelves. "I'm going to see what books they have."

"I never knew you read." Edd said.

"I don't read much." She said. "I'm just going over there while you and Marie spend some time getting to know each other." And with that, she walked away.

"Wait a minute," Edd called to her. "Are you trying to fix me up with someone?" But Sarah had already walked away, far enough to not hear him ask the question.

He looked over at Mr Earl, who began to turn the wrench inside the machine. "Why is Sarah so interested in introducing me and this young lady." He said to himself.

A minute passed when Marie appeared on the stairs. Edd found that there was something attractive about her. Her blue eyes, the way we wore those clothes, the way her hair covered one of her eyes, her smile, there was something that appealed to him.

She looked around, obviously looking for Sarah, and she went up to Edd. "Do you know where Sarah is?"

"She went to look for a couple of books." Edd lied.

"Strange," Marie frowned. "I didn't see her as much of a reader. So...what do you do here?"

"I just check books in and out of the library, and then I put the returned books back on the shelves."

"Have you been doing this long?"

"It's only been a couple of years." He answered. "It does fly by when you enjoy what you do. How do you know Sarah?"

"We met a few months ago," she replied. "We work next door to each other and we go to the same coffee shop on our breaks. We got to know each other and a couple of weeks later, we became friends."

As the both of them talked to each other, they didn't notice that Mr Earl had opened the fire extinguisher glass door due to the printer beginning to smoke, which did concern a few people nearby. As he opened the cartridge, sparks suddenly flew out, causing a loud bang, which made a few people jump.

Edd and Marie looked at Mr Earl, who put out the small fire that was inside the cartridge.

"Are you okay, Sir?" Edd called out, with Mr Earl nodding while he coughed.

Sarah walked to her two friends while looking at the smoking printer. "What's going on?"

"The printer is out of order," Edd told her. "We're getting a new one next week, anyways." He looked at his boss and then back at the girls. "I have to go help my boss with this. It was very nice meeting the both of you."

"Same here," Marie smiled. "I hope we'll see each other again."

Edd smiled and nodded, then turned to his confused boss.

Marie and Sarah walked down the stairs.

"Sorry, if he's a bit...weird." Sarah told her.

"I didn't think he was weird." Marie replied. "I thought he was pretty nice. Glad you introduced us."

"I am too." She said as they both were on the first floor and on their way to the exit. "Are we still on for lunch now?"

"Yep," Marie replied, as both women were outside. "I just have to get my handbag from your car."

"The car is unlocked," she said.

"I'll meet you at the food court in the mall." Marie pointed across the street to a tall 4 story building mall.

"Shouldn't I wait for you?" Sarah asked.

"Your car is a mess. It'll take me a while to find it. You go and save us a seat."

"Fine, see you later." And Sarah ran across the street.

Marie opened the passenger's door to Sarah's white Honda Accord. Her handbag was sitting on the seat and took it out of the car.

Edd and Mr Earl looked at the damaged printer.

"Well," Edd started. "I made a few modifications to it. It should work but it's only temporary. Sooner or later, that new printer will have to come."

"Let's hope this one can hold out a little while longer." Mr Earl said, as he started putting the tools away.

"Need anything else, Sir?" Edd asked.

"Nope," Mr Earl shook his head, as he put the tools away.

"Edd?" A voice behind him called out to him. Edd turned around and saw Marie, smiling.

"Hi." He said, smiling as well.

"Listen... are you doing anything this Saturday evening?"

"No."

"You want to meet me at the cafe near the mall, around 7?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Can I give you my number and you give me yours?"

"Sure." He nodded, taking out a pad of sticky notes and a pen from his pocket. She told him her number, with him writing it down. "I don't have a cell phone so you'll have to call my house."

"That's okay," she said as he gave her his phone number. She pulled out her cell phone from her pocket. He told her his number and she entered it into her phone. Then she put her phone, putting it back in her pocket.

"So," she smiled. "I'll see you Saturday."

"I will." He smiled back.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The school week went pretty fast. For Edd, the week would pass by quickly but it was as if he slept through the whole week this time.

Next thing he knew, it was Saturday afternoon. Edd was home after work and he tried to figure which shirt to wear for the date. He could wear his black Dickies and his dark blue sneakers but he couldn't make up his mind about a shirt. He couldn't wear his dress shirt because he already wore it for work. He looked into his closet for something casual to wear. All he could find were a few assorted colored, short-sleeved golf shirts, which looked pushed to the side, in favour of his professional clothing.

Not having much of a choice, he took a navy blue shirt off its hanger and closed the closet door.

It was 6:55.

He waited for Marie in front of the cafe. Obviously, since this was his first date, Edd was a bit nervous. He tried to figure out why he agreed to go on a date with someone he only met for a few minutes. It was odd to see her gravitate towards him but he couldn't run away from this.

He spotted her coming from across the street. His heart pounded in his chest when he saw her walk towards him. She smiled and waved to him and waved back.

"So, where do you work?" Edd asked, sitting across from Marie at a booth. "If you don't mind me asking."

She shook her head, as she sipped on her latte. "I work at a record store on weekends. I'm just at the cash register."

Edd nodded. "Sounds like a pretty exciting job."

"It is," Marie told him. "Not to sound cliché but the people who come in make things a little exciting. There are a group of regulars who come in, look around for albums and talk about the strangest things. They talk about where supposedly dead musicians hide out to get away from the world."

"There are a bunch of theories to that, one of them being that some of them might be dead."

"These people say that they have plastic surgery and hide in plain sight, working in public places. No one ever knows who they really are."

"That's something that I've never heard before," Edd laughed. "I have to look at people more closely than." He said, looking at his tea.

"You might see Jim Morrison at your local supermarket." She giggled. "So, what do you do outside of work?"

"I usually do homework. Whenever I finish, I write."

"You write?" Marie asked.

"Yes," Edd said. "I'm writing a novel. I don't know what to write about. I know the characters but I don't know what to write about. It's been a bit over 3 months since I started and I only got up to 15 pages."

"Writer's block," Marie said. "It happens to the best of writers."

"Now, I'm looking to the biographies of famous writers to see how they broke through their walls."

"Have you ever tried music?" she asked.

"I've tried a bunch of classical musicians, like Beethoven, Verdi and Mozart. They're not helping much, so far."

"It takes time," Marie assured him. "Some people can't think of anything to write for years." She took a second to realize what she had said. "It didn't help that I said that, did it?"

"It's okay," Edd sighed. "It does feel like years since I last wrote anything." He shook his head. "I'm talking about myself way too much. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing much," Marie shrugged. "When I don't work, I just go home and listen to music."

"What kind of music?"

"It's mostly punk and alternative. I guess you're not into that."

"I've tried it but it's not for me, I guess." He told her, taking a sip of his hot tea. "You could say that I'm a fan of music that sounds a bit quieter."

"Hence, why you work at the library." She said. "It's more organized, quieter and you can find your inner peace there."

"You're not wrong," he smiled. "There are some odd people who I'm surrounded by at work as well but it pales in comparison with the regulars at your work."

"Yeah," Marie nodded. "I don't know how you can top dead musicians working at Wal-Mart."

Both of them laughed. After a few seconds, there was a silence, both parties thinking of what to say.

Edd broke the silence. "So, do you have any siblings?"

Marie nodded. "I have two sisters, May and Lee. They're with my parents at New York, visiting my cousins. The reason I'm not with them is because I took all my sick days off."

"You were sick a lot then?" Edd asked.

"No," she said. "It was because there is something big that I can't miss for the world. Usually, it's a band that I like coming to town. Well, it's always for that reason. Do you have siblings?"

"No," Edd said, looking at his drink. "I'm an only child. My parents, I guess, only wanted one."

"Yeah," she said in agreement. "Having two other siblings in a house with you does get pretty hectic. Thank God I have the house to myself for the next two weeks. Now, I know how it feels to have some peace and quiet."

"Yes, nice, isn't it?"

Silence.

"May I ask you a question?" Marie finally spoke.

"Go ahead." Edd answered.

"Sarah has told me a few things about you." She began. "Do you get tired of doing the same things every day?"

Edd shook his head. "Not really. There are days where I don't even think about it. Besides, I'm breaking my usual schedule by being here with you."

Marie smiled. "And if you weren't here with me, what would you be doing?"

"I would either be reading or staring at my laptop for an hour, trying to figure out what to write." Edd answered.

Marie looked surprised."You said that pretty quickly."

"Yes," he said. "It's quite sad, actually." He chuckled.

"It pretty much is." Marie laughed as Edd looked at her in mock non-amusement, which made her laugh a bit more. It got him laughing as well.

They both finished their drinks and talked a bit more. After 20 more minutes, they decided to call it a night.

"Is it okay if you walk me home?" Marie asked, getting up from her seat.

"I'd like to." He said, also getting up, both of them exiting the cafe.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Edd and Marie were walking to her house late that night and, before they knew it, they arrived. They walked up to her front door.

"This is a nice house," Edd said, looking at her two story house.

"Thanks," she said. "I think it's a little messy right now. We're still getting used to living away from a trailer. We finally got enough money to buy a house with separate rooms."

"I see." Edd nodded before there was a silence for a few seconds. "Well," he finally said. "I guess this is where we part."

Marie looked at the ground, shyly. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"I'll see you soon?" Edd asked her, as he held out his hand.

Marie smiled and shook it. "I hope so." She took out her keys and opened her door, going inside. She looked at him, waiting for something.

Edd, unfortunately, didn't know what might have been going through her mind. "Have a good night." He said.

"Yeah, you too." She said, as she closed the door, hearing Edd walk off her front porch soon after.

Edd walked all the way to his house, which wasn't that far. He kept thinking about her. All his life, he had never felt something like this about anyone before. He didn't know how to express himself. It was as if all his knowledge about human behavior had abandoned him.

He sighed as he opened his front door, half thinking about work the next day. He went up to his room and laid out his clothes for work. After, he lay on his bed, thinking about the things they talked about. They were so different, yet, they connected so well.

He continued to think about the date but, slowly, he drifted into unconsciousness.

The phone rang loudly through the house, waking Edd from his slumber. He looked at his watch, which said 10:26. He groaned, as he got up from his bed. He went to his kitchen to get the phone. There was a phone in his parents' bedroom, which he could have gotten but he didn't want to disturb their sleep, even though the ringing phone woke him up.

He arrived at the kitchen and looked at the caller id on the phone. Marie.

Quickly, he answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, Edd." Marie's voice purred over the phone.

"Good evening, Marie," Edd replied. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I just wanted to call to let you know that I had a great time tonight."

"I had a good night too." Edd said, shyly.

"Sorry about calling so late after our date," she said. "I just wanted to let you know that I wanted a good night kiss."

Edd didn't know what to say.

"Edd?" Marie called out to him, after 8 seconds of silence.

"Yes?" he answered.

"I kind of wanted a good night kiss." She whispered. "I just wanted to let you know." Edd heard a sigh over her end of the phone. "Good night."

"Good night, Marie." And with that, they both hung up. "She wanted a good night kiss." He said to himself, walking back to his room. He sat on his bed and tried to think of what he should've done. A few minutes later, he paced around his room. He couldn't go to sleep until he figured this out. It was obvious to him now that he should've kissed her on her front door. He couldn't get to sleep because he thought he ruined the end to what he thought was nice date, even if it was his only date.

"Maybe taking a walk will clear my head."

The next thing he knew, he went outside. He started walking in the summer night. His thoughts were racing like crazy. His mind never did this when he had a ton of work to do. Multi-tasking never did this to his mind, either.

After walking around the block for several minutes, he walked further away from his home. He didn't know what he was doing. He had work the next day. He had to go home and get a good long rest. But he continued to walk further away from his house and then he went into familiar territory. He stopped in front of Marie's house.

"It's the middle of the night," he said to himself. "I can't disturb her while she's sleeping." His logical side was in full form; however, the emotional part of him went up to the door and rang the doorbell. "She's going to hate me for waking her at this time." About 12 seconds later, lights were turned on from in the house.

The front door opened and there he saw Marie, looking a bit tired but, at the same time, glad to see him.

All of a sudden, Edd wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips. He was surprised at what he was doing and thought Marie would push him off. But, Marie wrapped her arms around his neck, letting the kiss happen. They let up for some air and then they went back for another kiss. They stopped and hugged each other.

"Listen," Edd said. "I don't have school this Friday or the Monday after that. I was wondering if we could go to the movies."

"I don't have work on Friday," she answered. "It's fine as long as I get to pick the movie."

"That's okay with me." They broke the hug and kissed once more. "I'll see you Friday evening?" he said, looking her deep in the eyes.

"You bet." She told him. "Goodnight." She cooed as they kissed one last time, holding hands this time.

"Goodnight." He said, as they broke their hands away from each other. She smiled as she closed the door in front of him.

He walked off her front porch and, next thing he knew, he walked into his house and into his bedroom. Still thinking about what happened earlier; he put on his sleeping clothes and climbed into bed. His thoughts were still on Marie. He smiled a little bit as he headed into subconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Edd was grateful that this school week was shorter than usual. It wasn't that he liked school, he did. It was just that he was excited for Friday night. During the week, he still put all his effort into his work. It was like he had never stopped being that same straight A student from before.

However, when the short school week ended, he rushed home to get ready for his movie date with Marie. He took out a black golf shirt and dress pants for the occasion and put his clothing on his dresser. He went into his bag to take out some homework, only to realize that he did all of it at the school library.

Edd went to his desk and took out his laptop, opening his story on Microsoft Word. His writer's block was gone and, for the past week, he was writing a storm. He thought of a plot and, before he knew it, ended up typing up to 50 pages in total. He thought that Marie had given him inspiration at first but it was the advice of Mr Earl that gave him that.

The day after the date, Edd was at the library early, putting books away, when he passed by a book that caught his eye. He picked it off the shelf and saw the book was called Stones by William Bell. He read the first page and was instantly hooked. Before he knew it, he had thought of plenty of new ideas.

Edd looked up the window and saw that it was dark outside. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 11. Calling it a night, he put away his laptop and climbed into bed.

Edd picked up Marie from her house and they began to walk to the movie theatre Friday evening. Where they lived, there were two theatres. One was the one that the majority of people went but the other one, which they were going to, showed black and white motion pictures, dating back to the early 30s, 40s and, occasionally, 50s. Not many people came here but every night, a decent amount of people arrived.

The couple bought tickets, which were only $3.50 a ticket, and went to see _You Only Live Once. _They sat in the back row, even though no one else was watching the movie. The couple sat quietly, watching the film. They held hands halfway through and Marie leaned her head on Edd's shoulder.

Soon, the movie ended and the couple went out of the theatre. They both walked home, quietly, since they both liked the silence of the night. Edd reached his hand out to Marie, which she saw and held his hand as well.

They never let go until they got to Marie's house.

The couple were in Marie's bedroom, sitting on the edge of her bed, kissing for the past 3 minutes.

"I want to throw you against the wall and make you mine." Marie said, with tenderness.

"I want to drink you and make you a part of me." Edd replied.

"I want to smash your face with a hammer because you're too cute for me."

"I want to inject you into me so I'll be high off of you."

Marie giggled. "This is pretty funny."

"Not to mention a bit scary and cheesy," Edd said. "I'm really bad at this."

"I don't think you are." She whispered as they kissed again. "I think it's cute."

"Yes, you are." He said.

"Do you want to stay the night?" she asked.

"Okay," he nodded. "I just have to get ready for work tomorrow."

She smiled. "As long as you stay here with me, it doesn't matter."

They lay on her bed, in each other's arms, neither of them caring about changing their clothes.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"So, there's this thing going on a few streets over from where we work," Sarah told Marie over the phone, early the next morning. "Some movie is being shot later on and everyone is going to check it out."

"That sounds interesting." Marie said, sitting on her bedroom dresser.

"Are you going to show up to see what's going on?" Sarah asked.

"Not really," Marie told her. "I'm just going to stay in."

"Oh, okay," Sarah said. "Hey, have you heard from Double D lately?"

"I've seen him here and there." Marie smiled.

"I'm sorry if you think he's a bit off," Sarah sighed. "I guess he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who is interested in anyone right now."

"It's okay," Marie sighed. "He doesn't seem off to me." She smiled as she looked at Edd, who was sitting across her, on her bed, smiling back.

"Well, he's a bit odd to me," Sarah said. "Okay, well, I'll see you later?"

"Okay." Marie agreed. "Talk to you later." She hung up the phone and sat on Edd's lap, both falling on her bed.

Edd walked out of the library after another work day was over. He started walking home when he saw a certain blue haired girl, who waved at him.

"Hey," Edd called out to her. "I was on my way home."

Marie walked up to him and held his hand. "Come on." She told him, pulling him to the other direction. "There's somewhere we have to go." Before he asked, she beat him to it by answering, "It's just somewhere I want to bring you, nothing dangerous. Do you have change?" Edd nodded. "Good."

They arrived in the city, through bus transportation, around 7. Edd looked around, a bit fearful, since he didn't really go to the city. All his needs were back at where he lived.

Not far from the bus stop where they were dropped off at, Marie led him to a place with the name of it in neon blue lights: The Alice Heaven. Edd gulped as he was led into the building.

He looked around to see that it was, in fact, a club as he was informed before. The room was big for a club, with pictures of different bands and famous people framed all over the wall; there was a bar near the right side of the club. Edd also noticed that the place was filled with people in casual clothing, with him dressing like he came from an important meeting. Most of the people had long hair and wore black clothing, although it wasn't a gothic look.

As he looked around, he saw that there was a stage a few feet away, with four people setting up their instruments.

Marie looked at her boyfriend. "I take it it's your first time here."

Edd nodded. "It's my first time at a club, period."

"Don't worry," she told him. "It's a pretty laid back club. Even when someone gets drunk, they're still okay. I mean, you can tell if they're drunk but, they're pretty harmless. Let's get something to drink!" She led him to the bar.

"I don't drink alcohol." He told her.

"There's Coke and water." She told him as they arrived at the bar. She looked called to a bartender. "Harry!"

A young man with dreadlocks looks to Marie. "Hey, Marie, what's up?"

"I'm just bringing my boyfriend here, never been here before." Marie told him. "Edd, this is Harry. Harry, this is Edd."

"It's nice to meet you." Edd said, taking out his hand.

"It's good to meet you too." Harry shook his hand, smiling. "So, what's your flavour?"

"I'm sorry?" Edd said, confusingly.

"He's asking what you want to drink." Marie told him.

"Oh," He said. "I would like to have a bottle of water, please?"

"You got it," Harry said, bending down to a mini-fridge. "And the usual root beer for Marie?"

Marie nodded. "Put them both on my tab."

Harry got out a water bottle and a glass bottle of root beer. "She pays the tab every second Saturday." He told Edd. "Right now, her tab is $9.50."

Marie looked shocked. "That's it?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a $10 bill. "Keep the change." She smiled. "So, who's the band tonight? They look new."

Harry looked at the stage. "Yeah," he told her. "They came from Australia. They're called Black Melon."

Edd gulped. He thought this was a blues club of some kind. This band sounds heavy metal.

"Come on, Edd," Marie led him away from the bar. "Let's take a seat before the band plays. Thanks for the drinks, Harry!"

"No problem!" he called back. "It was good seeing you, Edd!"

Edd smiled and nodded at him.

It was 7:45 when the band on stage was completely ready to play.

"Alright, people!" the lead singer said into the microphone. "How's everyone doing?" The whole club cheered as the singer laughed. "We are Black Melon. We're new in town since we're driving around and playing small venues and clubs. So, enjoy!" he looked at his band to see if they were ready.

Marie got up from her seat and grabbed Edd's arm. "Come on!" she pulled him. "Let's go get a closer look at them." Edd got up and followed her, and other people, to in front of the stage. Edd took a deep breath and waited for the opening chords.

The band started playing and he immediately realized that this was not any kind of hard rock. It was rock but there was a bluesy feel to it. The sound was so calm and pleasant. It was if they added blues to his favorite classical musicians.

_I can feel you_

_I know you're there._

_Don't walk away_

_I know you care._

Edd didn't care that the lyrics were shaky at best; it was the way the singer sang them. It was full of sorrow and regret, all while reaching out to someone he loves.

_I'm a sick man_

_Numb and falling._

_Feel it in my blood_

_Your pain happening._

Edd went behind Marie and put his arms around her waist. She held her arms around his as they watched the band perform the rest of the song.

Black Melon finished their 45 minute set and said their good nights. Edd and Marie walked back to their table and got their things, ready to leave. They walked outside when a voice called out to him.

"Edd!" he turned around to see Matt, walking toward him. "I never thought to see you here!"

"Well, I was dragged here," he said, jokingly, with Marie giving him a mock angry stare. "Matt, this is Marie, Marie, this is Matt. He's one of my co-workers."

Matt nodded to her. "What's up?"

Marie smiled. "Nothing, we were on our way out."

Matt smiled. "Cool. The guys and I were walking around the block. They just went inside for some drinks. Cool band, right?"

Edd and Marie nodded. "They weren't what I expected." Edd told him.

"Yeah," Matt said. "I didn't even see you in there."

"We were in front of the stage the whole time." Marie said.

"Listening to the music up close and personal, huh?" Matt laughed. "Well, I have to meet up with the guys. It's been nice seeing you."

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Edd said.

Matt nodded as he headed back inside and the couple started to walk to the bus stop. When they arrived, Marie whispered in his ear.

"Would you stay over at my place again tonight?"

"Of course."

And the night was good for both of them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sunday evening

It was another day of work for Edd. Although he said a few more than a few words to his co-workers, he felt like doing something. He thought about doing homework but he remembered that he didn't have any. He considered getting ahead of his studies but he was already two months ahead of the class. He thought of typing out a few more pages of his story but he had decides to pace himself for today so he wouldn't run out of ideas.

He started to walk his usual way home. He thought about visiting Marie but she was out with Sarah, possibly telling Sarah about her relationship with Edd. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he loved her but he didn't want to do anything cheesy, like tell the whole world about their love. He thought about turning in early but it was way too early to do that.

Without thinking, he walked past his house and walked up to another house. He went to the side of a house and peered through a basement window, hoping he would see what was always there. He did. Edd smiled as he saw the sight of his friends, Ed and Eddy sitting on Ed's couch, playing Gears of War 3 on Xbox 360. He knocked on the window, causing the boys to pause the game and look around to the window.

Ed jumped happily from the couch and opened the window for him, allowing Edd to climb through. "Oh man!" Ed shouted. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"That was only a couple of weeks ago!" Eddy laughed. "Remember, he was at your party."

Ed laughed. "Well, to me, that could be several years!" he looked at Edd. "So, want to play Gears 3 with us?"

Edd shrugged. "I don't know how to play."

Eddy smiled. "Yeah, Ed and I were horrible at it at first but we got better after the 2nd hour kicked our ass." He pulled out a 3rd controller from under the couch and plugged it in. "We'll show you how to play."

Edd smiled as he and Ed sat on the couch. Ed's room was much cleaner than before. The room walls were still filled with his childhood drawings of monsters and aliens. He had a flat screen to play games and watch his shows on. Edd looked to his side and saw that there was a closet full of scary movies, ranging from high budget to Z-movies.

Edd picked up the controller as Eddy asked, "So, where have you disappeared to all this time?"

"There is school, there is work. That's it, I guess."

Ed got into the conversation. "So, what made you come here?"

As the game started, Edd told both of his friends, "I had a good couple of weeks."

Monday afternoon

Edd sat in a quiet part of the library. He was typing away on his laptop, his mind racing with thoughts at the same time. He was officially halfway of finishing his story.

He paused for a minute, looking at his document.

Then, a pair of arms slid around him. He smiled, knowing who it was.

She leaned near his right ear.

"Let's go."


End file.
